


The Birds and the Bees

by Ainikki



Category: Seirei no Moribito | Guardian of the Sacred Spirit
Genre: F/M, Gen, Pre-Canon, Rashomon-style perspective shifts, THIS IS NOT GROSS, Tanda's family is awful with zero redeeming features, and Jiguro being the harried dad of a teenage girl, it's a weird story is what I'm saying, no sex here, parents are clueless and kids are dorks, side lashings of Torogai being a mother to a neglected and abused boy, this is just cringe, tooth-rotting sweetness mixed with child abuse and hurt-comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:54:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29365833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ainikki/pseuds/Ainikki
Summary: Balsa is fifteen when Jiguro starts to notice Tanda’s eyes on her. When he negotiates with Torogai to rein in her apprentice a little, he gets a little more than he bargained for.Or: The fic where Jiguro and Torogai have to give The Talk to the children in their care while said children are experiencing the beginnings of awkward sexual attraction to each other.
Relationships: Balsa & Jiguro, Jiguro & Tanda, Jiguro & Torogai, Tanda/Balsa Yonsa
Kudos: 3





	1. Returning from Rota

**Author's Note:**

> This isn’t canon with “The Wanderer,” but it isn’t *not* canon, too, if you follow me. It owes a lot to that one scene in Guardian of the God - Return from the Hard Journey (you'll know it when you see it). I just think something like this always had to happen at some point. I apologize in advance for the cringe.
> 
> I wrote this because I'm translating Guardian of the God and really just wanted to reach out and give Tanda all the hugs and many years of therapy.
> 
> I've planned three short chapters but my penchant for longfic may get the better of me. We'll see.

When Jiguro and Balsa finished guarding a caravan in Rota in early autumn, they came back to Torogai's to hide and lick their wounds as they always did after a job. Balsa had grown a full head over the summer and Tanda had shot up like a weed. Jiguro caught Tanda glancing sidelong at Balsa all through dinner on their first day back, but he hadn't thought much of it; Balsa's injuries had been obvious and he knew how attentive a healer the boy was.

But when the glances persisted into the second day after all her wounds had been treated, he grew suspicious. Tanda left out snacks that Balsa liked near their bedrolls that morning; then he shirked his magic weaving training to go mushroom-picking so that he could make Balsa's favorite stew. That's when he knew that Tanda had a crush on Balsa.

Jiguro sighed inwardly at this complication, but he supposed things could be worse. Tanda seemed like a kind boy, but he suspected Balsa wouldn't ever view him romantically. He should probably take the boy aside and tell him to be a bit less obviously slack-jawed around his daughter, lest people get the wrong impression.

But Tanda was more than a little intimidated by him, so it was hard to get the boy alone. Jiguro's own injuries were slight, so Tanda had no need to treat him--even though that would have provided the perfect excuse to talk. Jiguro considered faking an injury, briefly, but he wasn't a good liar, and the boy was too good a healer to be easily deceived.

So when Jiguro finds himself tracking the boy through the woods to the Yakoo settlement where his parents purportedly live, he's a little embarrassed with himself. He should have confronted him at Torogai's before he left, but Balsa had been there, as had Torogai. He knew that Torogai had picked up on Tanda's crush as well, but that was no reason to call out the boy in front of others, especially Balsa.

He snorted. Balsa was as much a man as he was at this point. She had no interest in love or courtship or marriage. She and Tanda were already good friends; Tanda would likely have to learn to be content with that.

He watched Tanda enter a small hut in the half-dark. There were no lights on inside that he could see. He looked up at the stars in the clear cold sky and waited until Tanda was done visiting his family.

When Tanda came out of the hut again, he was carrying a small sack and a candle. When he held the light up close to his face, Jiguro saw a fresh bruise over one of his cheekbones and stood very still.

Tanda rummaged around in his bag and pulled out a small cloth and a bottle of one of his herb mixtures.

He should call out to him now. That's what he came here to do. But he can't bring himself to confront Tanda at such a damaged and vulnerable moment. He suddenly understood that Tanda had worked incredibly hard to conceal this aspect of his life from others. Jiguro didn't want to shatter his hard-won self-respect without giving him some way of preserving his dignity in return. Being a teenager was hard enough without being routinely beaten, but calling out Tanda's abuse won't help him escape it.

He returned to Torogai's hut a little after midnight. Tanda hadn't returned; he was probably still hiding in the woods, treating his injuries alone in the frigid weather so that when he came back the next morning no one would know how he'd been hurt.

Balsa was asleep near the fire when he came in, but Torogai was still awake, staring into a bowl of still water and humming a strange incantation in a repeated pattern that sounded like a song.  
  
"Tanda's being beaten," Jiguro said softly.

"Yes, I know," she said. Then she resumed her incantation.

He raised an eyebrow. "Since when?"

She shrugged. "Since before I found him playing in the woods near here, looking at birds from Nayugu. I think he was three or four at the time."

Three or four. Jiguro clenched his fists. "I'll kill his parents," he muttered.

"Don't," Torogai said. "Tanda wouldn't thank you. I wouldn't mind you scaring some sense into them, though. Maybe you could teach Tanda a little about defending himself. All he knows now is how to patch himself up."

Jiguro nodded thoughtfully. Balsa shifted and muttered something in her sleep. Her spear was clasped tightly in her left hand. Maybe he should consider teaching Tanda a few things.


	2. Visiting Tanda's House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Balsa's not really sure what to think of Tanda's family. She remembers her own parents vaguely, but both of them had worked and she'd been an only child so she'd spent a lot of time being watched by her aunt. Ever since then, she'd been traveling with Jiguro. She never had two parents and lots of siblings living together all under one roof. 
> 
> She'd seen Tanda with bruises and stuff before, but Balsa's also usually covered in bruises so she didn't think much of it. She thought maybe Tanda was training just like she was. When Jiguro took her aside and told her the truth, she was boiling mad and insisted on helping Jiguro train him so that he could defend himself.

The next morning, Jiguro invited Tanda to try spear forms with him and Balsa.

It didn't go well.

Tanda didn't have a natural knack for the spear like Balsa; he kept trying to swing it one-handed and couldn't seem to find the balance point of the weapon.

Balsa shook her head at him sadly. Jiguro recognized the look on her face as one he'd received from his own trainers, and understood suddenly just how much Balsa had copied from him.

"I don't think he'll make much of a spear-wielder, dad," she said quietly.

"Well, you weren't that great your first day, either."

"At least I didn't actually drop my stick." She snorted. "He's clumsy with it. I've seen a lot of people fight. I think he'd do better with a one-handed weapon."

Jiguro privately agreed. It would be better if Tanda didn't have to learn weapons at all--but he was being attacked, and Jiguro had committed to teaching him how to defend himself.

"Why don't I start with wrist locks?" Balsa asked. "Or dodge drills, so that when someone comes at him he'll be able to get out of the way or block?"

Jiguro nodded. Those were the absolute basics of hand fighting, so they were easier than the spear and more immediately practical for his current situation.

Balsa told Tanda to rush at her as fast as he could. She tripped him, then explained how she did it so he could try.

Tanda fell a lot that morning and would probably need to treat himself for injuries later, but he mastered outside wrist lock and center lock in the blink of an eye, to the point where he can almost bring Jiguro to his knees.

"Five pounds of pressure is all it takes," Balsa said, clapping Tanda on the back while Jiguro shook out his pain-numb hand. "You're a natural."

Tanda smiled.

***

"Torgal!" Jiguro hissed and sat bolt upright in bed, fully awake. It's always the same dream: he hesitates right before cutting his best living friend's chest open because he can't bear to do it again, so Torgal cuts him open instead.

Maybe it really should have happened that way.

"I can give you something for the dreams again," Torogai said quietly.

Jiguro sat up and nodded. "Please." Then he frowned. "Where are Balsa and Tanda?"

"Tanda's brother Kaiza is sick, so he wanted to go home and check on him, maybe make him some soup or something. Balsa insisted on tagging along to protect him." Torogai rolled her eyes.

Jiguro glared at her. "And you didn't wake me?" Torogai shrugged. "Anything that happens in these parts, I know about first. They'll be perfectly safe."

***

Balsa's only been to Tanda's house a few times. Tanda didn't like inviting anyone over because his mom always complained about another mouth to feed, so Balsa's carrying enough leftover soup and day-old bread to feed the entire family if necessary, not just Kaiza. She's not really sure what to think of Tanda's family. She remembered her own parents vaguely, but both of them had worked and she'd been an only child so she'd spent a lot of time being watched by her aunt. Ever since then, she'd been traveling with Jiguro. She never had two parents and lots of siblings living together all under one roof.

She'd seen Tanda with bruises and stuff before, but Balsa's also usually covered in bruises so she didn't think much of it. She thought maybe Tanda was training just like she was. When Jiguro took her aside and told her the truth, she was boiling mad and insisted on helping Jiguro train him so that he could defend himself.

Jiguro had never harmed Balsa in anger. He'd never deliberately harmed her at all. Even when he'd ripped her away from the awful bully that she'd nearly beaten to death, all he'd really done was scare her. Tanda didn't deserve to be abused by anyone. As far as Balsa could tell, he'd never hurt anyone before.

They don't talk much on the way to the village. It's late and Tanda's clearly tired from all the training they did that morning. When his house came into view as they crested the last of the hills surrounding the village, she asked, "Are you sure you want to go in? I can drop this stuff off and ask about Kaiza."

"No, thanks. It's my family, Balsa." He yawned.

"I know," she muttered darkly. Tanda spent a lot more time with her and Torogai than he did with his so-called family. She felt a twinge of something like jealousy because of the label. What made them so special, anyway? Is it because they beat him up? She could do that.

Only, no, she couldn't. Tanda's too nice to beat up. She shook her head. "Fine. I'm coming in with you, though."

Tanda shrugged. "We brought enough food for everyone, so that shouldn't be a problem."

"Your mom sure is stingy about food, huh?"

They were standing in front of Tanda's door now. Tanda knocked, but no one answered. He opened the door and entered with Balsa right on his heels. The house was dark. It didn't look like anyone was awake. Balsa was starting to see the wisdom of Tanda suggesting a night visit. He tiptoed to a room at the back of the small house; Balsa silenced her footfalls and followed him.

"Kaiza?" Tanda whispered. He crouched down next to his brother on the floor. Kaiza only had one blanket and looked very pale. Balsa frowned.

"Doesn't he need more blankets?"

"There's one in my pack I can give him." Tanda retrieved the blanket and settled it over a shivering Kaiza. Then he dipped some of the bread he brought into soup that was still slightly warm because of its tight packaging and started feeding him a little at a time.

Balsa got bored and started looking around, but there wasn't much to see. Kaiza slept in a room with another boy who appeared to be fast asleep. There was another room at the other end of the hall where Tanda's parents probably slept and the large room they'd come through that was probably the kitchen. This place had more people than Torogai's hut, but Balsa was pretty sure this place was smaller.

Tanda finished feeding Kaiza and left the rest of the food they'd brought in the kitchen. His mother could heat up the soup in the morning, and the bread should keep well enough until then, too. The two of them sneaked outside and began to walk back to Torogai's along the line of the Aogumi river.

Balsa immediately sensed that they were being followed and turned around.

The person following them was a boy, maybe three or four years older than Tanda. He looked like him a little, too, and that's when Balsa realized she'd seen him once before.

"Noshir," Tanda said. "Can't sleep?"

Noshir pouted. "I see you didn't leave me any food again. You just brought some for Kaiza."

"Well, he's sick," Tanda said. "And I did leave you some, in the kitchen. You can check if you don't believe me."

Noshir's eyes narrowed. "I don't believe you. You're trying to get me to go back inside so you can run back to the magic weaver without leaving me anything."

"I left you food, Noshir," Tanda says with a huge yawn. "I'm tired and I want to go to bed."

"Why didn't you sleep in our room, then?" Noshir asks.

It's a fair question. Tanda's eyes flick to Balsa. "I have to make sure she gets home."

Noshir nods in mock understanding. "Any excuse not to stay home, huh? Why do you even bother coming back?"

Noshir sprinted up behind Tanda and pushed him in the half-frozen river. It was so fast and so unexpected that Balsa couldn't guard against it or keep Tanda from falling in. Balsa saw red and shoved Noshir bodily backwards, then grabbed Tanda's hand before he could get sucked into the river's current. She pulled him out and glanced around for Noshir, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"He ran off," Tanda said with chattering teeth. He was soaked through and shivering all over. He was so pale that he looked like he was about to go into shock.

"What do you need?" Balsa asked, panicked. "Tell me what I need to do to make you better."

"C-cold," he said. His hands instinctively rubbed at his chest. "R-rub my arms. Do you have a blanket?" She nodded. Balsa ripped off her pack, removed her spare blanket and tossed it to Tanda. She wished that he still had the blanket he gave to Kaiza. Tanda shrugged out of his shirt with a shuddering gasp and wrapped himself fully in the blanket. He sneezed.

Balsa took off her coat and wrapped him in it, then re-wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. She rubbed his arms like he told her to and asked, "What else can I do?"

"W-we should move so that I get warmer," he said. "Torogai will have a fire."

 _So will your family_ , she thought but didn't say. She didn't want to send Tanda back there ever if she could help it.

"Why do you let them treat you like that?" Balsa asked.

He frowned. "Like what?"

"Like..." Balsa wasn't sure what she wanted to say. Jiguro would say that they'd treated him like shit, but putting it that way would hurt or offend Tanda. He was always so careful with his words; she couldn't match him there, but she decided to try. "Like you're not special."

"I'm not," Tanda says lightly. "I was an 'oops' baby."

"What's that?"

"It means my parents didn't really want to have me, but they did on accident," Tanda said. "It's why they're happy to have me live with Torogai most of the time. Feeding three kids is hard, and you saw the house--we don't have much..."

Balsa stopped listening as she struggled to process someone not wanting Tanda.

"Balsa? Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I still don't like it."

"Like what?"

"How they treat you. It's not like you chose to be born." She frowned. "Or did you? How are human babies born, anyway? I've seen animal mating cycles but never people."

"Me, too," Tanda says. "I guess we could ask Torogai. Or Jiguro."


	3. The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Balsa asks Jiguro where babies come from he chokes on his mushroom stew, even though it's mostly broth. 
> 
> "What brought this on?"
> 
> "Well, I was talking with Tanda, and..."
> 
> Jiguro's eyes met Torogai's across the table. "You take Balsa," Jiguro said. "I'll take Tanda."
> 
> Torogai raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
> 
> "Because the period talk was already too far beyond the pale for me."

When Balsa asks Jiguro where babies come from he chokes on his mushroom stew, even though it's mostly broth. 

"What brought this on?"

"Well, I was talking with Tanda, and..."

Jiguro's eyes met Torogai's across the table. "You take Balsa," Jiguro said. "I'll take Tanda."

Torogai raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because the period talk was already too far beyond the pale for me."

"Fair enough. I remember having to swoop in on that one, too." Torogai's eyes glittered with amusement. "I wouldn't have expected that this would be the thing you'd be afraid of, spear-wielder."

"Afraid?" Balsa frowns. "What's there to be afraid of?"

"You're growing up," Torogai says. "That's always terrifying."

***

Jiguro takes Tanda aside after dinner. They sit near the pond outside Torogai's house. It's quiet.

"Well," Jiguro begins awkwardly, "as to where babies come from, it's both simple and complicated. I'm sure you've seen animals mating before."

Tanda nodded.

"It's the same with humans. But humans mature slower than other animals, so we don't get used to our impulses to procreate until we're out of childhood and into early adulthood." He frowns. "Have you woken up with wet blankets yet?"

Tanda reddened. "Um, yeah."

"Then I won't need to explain much. Good. Your body is changing. It will change a lot more before you're grown up. Right now, it's probably a little confusing. That's fine. It's confusing for all of us. 

"The most important thing for this talk is that your body is maturing sexually. When you're older and fully mature, you'll be able to make a baby if you meet a woman who wants to have sex with you."

"Is sex like what animals have when they mate?"

"Yes."

"That...always looks a little gross. And painful."

"Well, at least we can confirm that you're not sexually attracted to other animals." Jiguro chuckled. "Sex is a little gross, and if you're not careful, it can hurt. So when you find someone you want to have a child with, be careful with them. I probably don't have to tell you that. You'd do it anyway." He nods. "Human babies take the better part of a year to form in the womb. The woman does most of the work, so remember that before you get anyone pregnant. And keep in mind that a lot of women die in childbirth."

Tanda went pale. "It's that dangerous?"

"My mother died in childbirth."

Tanda looked like he wanted to be sick. "I--I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Jiguro said. "But the decision to have a child can have severe consequences. It's why most parents give their children talks like this when they're old enough. It seems your parents haven't bothered, so you get me instead."

Jiguro had given Tanda a lot to think about. "Do you think I should ask my parents about this stuff?"

Jiguro hmmed. "Well...I'll leave that up to you. You know them better than I do. But I'd probably ask Torogai first."

***

Torogai sat down on Balsa's bedroll and stared at her for several seconds. It made Balsa uncomfortable. "So, um..."

Torogai tilted her head. 

"Are you going to tell me where babies come from?"

"Jiguro hasn't told you?"

"I never asked."

Torogai nodded. "I see. You're like him in almost every way. I've never seen a more disinterested man than that."

"Huh?"

"Jiguro has no interest in sex, so neither do you."

"Sex? You mean like what animals do when they mate?"

"Exactly right." Torogai nods.

Balsa makes a face. "You mean my parents did *that* in order to make me?"

"There are a lot of ways to have sex," Torogai said. "What you're picturing might not be quite right. You shed blood every month because an unfertilized egg is passing out of your body. If you had sex and became pregnant with a child, your bleeding would stop for the duration of the pregnancy."

"How long is that?"

"Nine months, more or less."

Balsa nodded in understanding. "It seems like most people who have kids get married. Jiguro and I always got talked down to because we had no other family. Single parenthood seems," she shrugged, "difficult."

"You're more right than you know," Torogai said. "I've had three children, and my husband worked so much that I damn near raised them on my own before I ran away from that life."

Balsa's eyes widened.

"Bearing children and giving birth is no picnic," Torogai muttered. "I was married off to someone I didn't love when I was still a girl. You don't need love to make children, just sex. But people are usually happier when they choose someone to marry for themselves. Children of such couples are usually happier, too.

"So when you grow up, if you ever decide to have a child, make sure it's with someone you actually like. Someone who will raise the child with you and stay with you. That's my advice." She steepled her fingers. "I think you'd be strong enough to survive childbirth, but it's killed many strong women that I knew. Have Tanda with you if you ever give birth. He'll make sure you don't die."

Balsa frowned. Torogai had certainly given her a lot to think about.


	4. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hey, could you show me that move you used on Noshir?"
> 
> "Sure. Why?"
> 
> "Well, he's terrified of you now, and I think if I learned that he definitely wouldn't hit me anymore."
> 
> "It's too bad you're so terrible at the spear," Balsa said under her breath.
> 
> "What was that?"
> 
> "...nothing.

Noshir followed Tanda after his visit to Kaiza the next day. Balsa wasn't with him this time, so as soon as he caught sight of Noshir sneaking around behind him in the trees, he did the logical thing: he ran.

Noshir was taller and faster than him. He yanked him backwards from behind and tripped him.

Tanda landed hard on his back and saw Noshir's fist bearing down on him. Tanda caught his wrist expertly in both hands and turned it into a perfect center lock that made him cry out in pain, but then he slugged Tanda in the gut with his other fist.

And then Balsa is was behind Noshir--when did she get here?--ripping his hair out by the roots so that she she could drag his chest over her knee. She yanked him down by the hair; Tanda heard something break. Balsa shoved him to the ground face-first and flipped him over with her foot.

Noshir looked up at her, terrified and gasping. She leaned in close.

"I'm only gonna say this once," Balsa said. "Back. Off. And if you ever hurt Tanda again, I won't just tap you. I'll break your fucking skull."

Tanda's eyes widened. She probably learned that from Jiguro--both the move that felled Noshir and her ability to intimidate.

Noshir stumbled to his feet and fled for his life. 

Balsa helped Tanda up and hugged him to her reflexively, the same way Jiguro used to do with her when she was younger and one of their enemies had come close to harming her. She had to protect Tanda. He'd managed to hurt Noshir, and she was proud of him, but he wasn't ready to fight on his own yet. 

"I can't breathe," he said into her shirt.

She pulled back a little and turned bright red. "Sorry. I shouldn't have followed you, but I was worried. I...I think I like you." She didn't look at him; she couldn't. 

He laughed. "You only think so?" he asked. "I know I like you."

She looked up a little but did not meet his eyes. "Since when?"

"Since always," he said. "But...I think it's when you said I was special that I really knew it. Until then I just thought we were friends because we're around each other all the time and I stitch you up a lot."

Balsa didn't know what to say. Awkward silence stretched out between them.

"So...what do we do now?" Balsa asked.

"Do?"

"We like each other." Her face got even redder. "Torogai told me that usually means people get married and have kids and stuff."

His eyes widened. "Do you want to do that?"

She thought a moment, then shook her head. "No. And definitely not right now."

Tanda nodded in agreement. "Then let's not. But hey, could you show me that move you used on Noshir?"

"Sure. Why?"

"Well, he's terrified of you now, and I think if I learned that he definitely wouldn't hit me anymore."

"It's too bad you're so terrible at the spear," Balsa said under her breath.

"What was that?"

"...nothing." She turned to go, but Tanda caught her hand. 

"Thanks, Balsa," he said with a little smile.

"For what?"

"For being my friend."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kept it short! It was hard, but I think this is just cute. :)


End file.
